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Smile-Gang #533 & 534 – BRIGHT STREAM preview in 534

3 posts in 3 days! When was the last time that happened? And Smile-Gang update on the day it aired too (533 was from last week, 534 is today). You may or may not see the connection, but the speed of this update is more or less motivated by the Nanoha series. =3

Also, be warned that this post is rather long. It doesn’t yet compare to some of the even longer posts I’ve written, but it’s certainly longer than what I’ve posted recently. XD

Odd intro to Smile-Gang 533 because… Misato says that as Nana talks more and more about her lives and CD releases, we are hearing less and less of “stupid Nana.” In order not to forget their origins (their origin being baka Nana XD)… Well, that’s the nonsensical stuff we hear at the beginning. XD

Then in the Head Nanau corner, we get more Shin Domoto Kyoudai talk. The show was approximately 30 minutes long, but in actuality, it was much longer than that. There were many scenes that were cut out when it went on air. Anyway, Nana tells of the parts that weren’t shown on TV, such as the section where Takeda asked her a bunch of weird questions that Nana could only answer ‘no’ to and didn’t know how to elaborate further than that. An example of such as question is “Do people ever stop you and ask you to say something in an anime character’s voice?” I can understand why Nana said she could only say ‘no.’ There’s really nothing much to say beyond that, and I do know it’s awkward when it’s a simple ‘no’ to a series of continuous questions. The audience got a laugh out of these one word answers though, so I guess it worked out for Nana?

Then Nana talks about the Takamisawa surprise. When talking about Blood-C and saying how Saya has vampire elements and whatnot, Takamisawa suddenly said “You’ve done vampire roles before too, right?” Nana was caught off-guard before Takamisawa said “Rosario and Vampire.”
Lol. To be honest, despite having watched that anime, I have completely forgotten about this anime. This anime didn’t even occur to me, and I had briefly wondered to myself ‘Really? She had a vampire role?’ and when it was revealed to be Rosario and Vampire, that was when I remembered. XD And I wasn’t the only one who had this moment. Misato completely forgot too. And Nana had to say “You were in it too!” XDD
What’s surprising though, was that Takamisawa could even remember the main character’s full name as “Akashiya Moka.” This anime was from a few years back, so indeed, it’s a surprise that even such details were remembered.

While on the topic of anime, remember how there was a part where they did some live voice acting? And that Tsuyoshi messed up the kanji in his line? Furthermore, remember how it was Nana who pointed out the mistake? Apparently, Nana got a mail (text) afterward from Airino that wrote “there aren’t many seiyuu who would do that under such situations.” In her own defense, Nana replied that she only did it as a joke since she and Tsuyoshi were supposed to be classmates and all. ^^;;

Next up is the Don Channel… You know, the channel where they do all things random. This time, they decide to get Nana to taste test some yogurt mixes that… uh… don’t sound very appealing. It’s worth listening to if you want to hear Nana and Misato make “This tastes horrible” sounds.

First taste test was: Soy Sauce x Yogurt
Afterward putting it into her mouth, Misato asks her to say something. The resulting conversation went something like this:

Third taste test: Mayonnaise x Yogurt
According to Nana, it LOOKS good, but she doesn’t know what to make of the taste. It tastes like yogurt but smells like mayonnaise. XD

Fourth taste test: Rice x Yogurt
It’s not nearly as bad as the soy sauce (though it’s something they wouldn’t want to try again). It doesn’t taste bad, but it’s just weird according to the both of them.

Sixth taste test: Tomato juice x Yogurt
Misato says this one should be fine since there’s actually a similar mix out in the market. Personally, I’ve never seen tomato-flavoured yogurt, but I suppose it’s not a farfetched idea… Anyway, Nana’s conclusion is as below:

Nana: Tomato is tomato.

^Which translates to, no, she didn’t like it one bit. Haha.

Seventh taste test: Shallot juice x Yogurt
There exists people who actually mix yogurt with shallot juice. But both Misato and Nana thought it was absolutely horrible… Not surprising, right? XD;;

And that’s pretty much all the highlights of Smile-Gang 533, so I shall move on to Smile-Gang 534.

Nana begins this week’s Smile-Gang by thanking Misato for going all the way to Shimane to attend her live. When she asked what Misato did during the day (as her live was in the evening), Misato answered that she was in the next town taking a walk in the desert. XDD Lol. They’re in what Nana calls the “radio country”, so in actuality, the live hasn’t happened yet. XDD

Anyway, in the Head Nanau corner, Nana talks about something funny (yet sad) that happened during the recording of the live movies. It was a rather chaotic recording as they did it in a park during the day. A drunk 60 year old, seeing all the cameras set up and Cherry Boys in those “Nana Mizuki” t-shirts, went to check out what’s happening. He then asked if they were recording some humour show? There was a momentary ‘whut?’ moment, but ultimately, the Cherry Boys went along and said yeah, they’re doing a recording, but they’re just minor characters — like those who show up only to get slashed in the background on stage shows. The old man then tells the Cherry Boys to work hard, since minor characters can become famous too.
Somewhere along the way, some younger people noticed Nana in the center, and shouted to her.

Younger people: Ganbare Nana-chan!
Old man: Huh? She’s an idol? She’s nothing big.
Younger people: No need to care about what an old man says!
Old man: What? She’s just a farm girl!

^Yeah, that was the sad part. It’s true that she’s no city girl but… ^^;; Well, I guess there’s no proper reply to that either. Very obviously, this old man does not watch Kouhaku. 😐

Next up is the… ARTIST CHANNEL!

A more ‘normal’ artist channel, I must say. After all, this is where they air BRIGHT STREAM in full. Nana takes this chance to talk briefly about thes song. She mentions how it’s created with the desire of it being a cross between PHANTOM MINDS and ETERNAL BLAZE. The reason for that is because, unlike anime openings, movie ‘openings’ don’t really get played until the credits roll. That’s why Nana can’t have a song like ETERNAL BLAZE as it wouldn’t fit the mood. But seeing as movie 2nd A’s is based off of the A’s series, she wants to keep some ETERNAL BLAZE elements. Similarly, since this movie is a continuation of the Movie 1st, having BRIGHT STREAM share the same elements as PHANTOM MINDS made sense… And thus, we get the resulting BRIGHT STREAM.
The lyrics are, as with all Nanoha openings, is written by Nana. She tried not to use overly difficult words/phrases and incorporated as much of everyday words as possible. Let’s not forget that Nanoha is supposed to be a very kind 9 year old living in Uminari City.
Nana also briefly mentions about the recording of the PV. She says it’s very cool because it’s almost like a movie setting. For the most part, she’s in a giant watch/clock (which relates to one of the lines in the lyrics) and is wearing a “cool yet cute” red dress. She didn’t say any more than that, so we’ll have to see the PV ourselves to determine how “kakoii” it really is. XD

About my thoughts on the song… I like it! I really do! From the style right down to the lyrics. It carries across the strong feelings of the characters in A’s and I can almost see the battle scenes as well as peaceful scenes (parting scenes too) in my head like a music video… Although it might’ve been simply influenced by the trailer/promotional video of 2nd A’s I posted up yesterday… but still, I can see the story replayed in my head and that’s what is important. :3

I’m not going to try to compare it to ETERNAL BLAZE and SILENT BIBLE because it wouldn’t be a fair comparison. Though I think each song depicts a slightly different side to the story. ETERNAL BLAZE is more about the clash of beliefs (the desire to protect) between Nanoha’s group against the WolkenReitter, SILENT BIBLE is more of WolkenReitter’s lonely journey/past up until the point where they met Hayate (not going to get into the whole Stern, Levi, and Dearche thing here, especially because I do not think their pasts were revealed until Gears of Destiny). Finally, now, we have BRIGHT STREAM which is more WolkenReitter throwing everything away to grasp the ‘light’ — the one person whom they wish to protect above everything else.

Nanoha A’s is a really amazing series, so for those who have yet to watch the Nanoha series for whatever reason, I truly suggest giving it a try.

And yes, I’m a dork when it comes to the Nanoha series. XD

Anyway, I’m going to end this Smile-Gang post here. There is a bit of letter reading after the song that includes a listener telling Nana about Mont-Saint-Michel (famous tourist spot for Japanese, apparently). They also read a second letter about someone running too far and getting lost. Misato says she’s the type to get lost easily, whereas Nana rarely ever gets lost. She has a good grasp of her environment so she always know how to get from place to place and back. I wish I was like that too. I’m always afraid to take a new route because 95% of the time, I get lost… ^^;;

Rather than rude, I believe it was more of commending Nana on her bravery to do that considering Tsuyoshi’s status in the entertainment world. I doubt anyone would want to get on Tsuyoshi’s bad side by “attempting” to make fun of him — though I doubt he’d take offense to something like that.

I don’t mind yogurt (vanilla or strawberry flavoured), but those mixes definitely aren’t any I’d be curious to try. x_x

Lol. Either the drunk guy is good or Nana really gives off non-city girl vibes. ^^;;